Wanderers in Eternity – Chapter 4 (Page 4)
When they reached Neveli the following day it was evening. A little bit of oil that Janaki had taken from the temple was with her in a bottle. The previous year when she went on a pilgrimage to the Kandasami Kovil in Maviddapura, she brought home some oil from there in the same way. She felt that the oil had miraculous powers.
A long time ago, the Chola princess Marutha Piruvikavali’s equine face had become beautiful after bathing from the fountain at Keeramalai for several days. Supposedly it was that princess who had built the Kandasami shrine in Maviddapura close to the fountain. Janaki brought home oil from the kovil as well as the water from the fountain for a very special reason. Not that she also had an equine face. On one side of her little baby Vasantharaja’s torso was a large black birth mark.
As soon as the baby was born, it was this ugly birth mark that she had noticed. She cried on seeing this.
But she also noticed that the mark faded a little bit with the water from the fountain at Keeramalai and the oil from the Kovil. While in Keeramalai she washed the baby’s birth mark with the fountain. Later she rubbed some oil from the Kovil on the mark. In a few days the birth mark on Vasantharaja’s tiny body faded somewhat and reduced in size.
“Look, Shivankaram——” Janaki showed this miracle to her husband as well. “The baby’s birth mark has diminished from the water from Keeramalai and the oil from the Kovil”.
“So, we cannot go to Keeramalai every day. And we can’t keep going to the Maviddapuram Kovil either.” Shivankaram said.
“Let’s go next year.”
“Next year we are going to the Kovil in Nalloor. We will go to Maviddapuram the following years.”
“We will see.”
” I will bring some oil from Nalloor as well.”
This was the promise that Janaki had kept. As soon as she returned home she bathed the baby and rubbed some oil on his body. She felt that Vasantharaja’s birth mark had definitely reduced in size.
“Look, Shivankaram,” she called her husband. “What do you think? Don’t you think that the baby’s birth mark had gotten smaller ?”
“M….. I don’t know,” Shivankaram who was sipping tea replied nonchalantly.
“As he gets bigger and older that mark will appear small anyway.”
“That will be good then.”
“Right now that mark looks just like a spot of blood.”
” A spot of blood?”
” Yes, Janaki, a spot of blood. It looks just like a patch of blood left on his chest after someone had shot him.”
After saying this, Shivankaram walked outside with the cup of tea in his hand to look at his tobacco crop.
Tears rose in Janaki’s eyes. Till darkness fell she cried because of the love she had for her son Vasntharaja.